


Sharks and Butterfly Rays

by Anon4Us



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe, Gen, Samezuka!Rei, Very very minor RinRei, oneside really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-26 15:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/967367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anon4Us/pseuds/Anon4Us
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspiration comes in many forms. Sometimes they come later in life, sometimes they come earlier than we think. </p><p>In which Rei saw Rin swim first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sharks and Butterfly Rays

**Author's Note:**

> Totally inspire but this http://yuki119.tumblr.com/post/60050985289/allow-me-to-tell-you-about-my-new-favorite-thing by yuki119. I hadn’t been able to get the images out of my mind and had to write something down. I just love the concept, though I think I just totally drool over any of the Iwatobi boys in the Samezuka uniform…and vice versa.
> 
> As well, there is this kind of ray call butterfly rays that I remember seeing somewhere and rays and sharks are in the same family so…*walks off and whistles*

Everyone had looked forward to this day for weeks. It had been no stop chatter among his classmates. Why shouldn’t they? To open the pool met that they would get swimming classes for gym class. To dive into the cool water on those hot days, splash around with your friends. It was everyone favorite time of the year.

Rei sat on the side, watched his classmates and other grades jumped into the pool to have some fun. He stared out as he didn’t get the appeal of it all. He frowned as water splashed and tried to see who could hold their breath the longest. All the teachers were more focus none of the students drown that no one seem to notice one lone little boy off to the side, the only one dry with his swimsuit on.

“Not nice…” thought Rei. No one looked nice as they swan around. They looked like ducks or some kind of fish that flopped around as they tried to breathe. He wouldn’t look like an idiot, won’t embarrassed himself. They had come out of the water, so why would anyone want to go back into it, for pleasure.

It didn’t helped he had no friends to play with. His parents tried to set him up with play dates with their work friends, but they were never fun and none of his classmates liked him. They had thought he was weird cause he had a girl’s name and the way he wanted to look good all the time.

“Maybe cause you should be a girl instead of a boy,” was a popular insult his classmates used.

Just cause he didn’t want to get dirty…

“Awww, lil’ Rei worried about getting his pretty hair wet?”

Rei felt dread crept up on him, but he still sat there. It was Shinobu and his gang. Shinobu was in the same class as him but that was it. For some reason the other boy teased and bullied Rei as if it was his life mission. If he got through one day without Shinobu, it was a good day for Rei.

“Leave me alone,” mumbled Rei. Maybe if he just didn’t paid them any attention, they would leave.

“But why? Is that a pretty new swimsuit your mummy bought you?” asked Shinobu in an attempt to goad Rei, “Very bright and purple….are those butterflies on it?”

That caused them all to laugh as Rei tried to hide himself under his arms. He happened to like his swimsuit and if he was force to wear one than he would wear one that he liked. But boys don’t normally wear purple or butterflies so that made him a target. So, Shinobu and his friends laughed as Rei was force to listen to it.

“You’re such a wimp,” sneer Shinobu, “You scared of the water? Or just don’t want to get wet?”

“None of your business,” said Rei, glared up at the boys, “Leave me alone,”

It didn’t scared them off as they continued to circle around Rei. Terror trembled into his body when he realized there was no escape. He forced himself up as panic settled in. None of the teachers realized the trouble yet and he doubt they would. Rei hadn’t a chance to shout for help as he was shoved from behind. His glasses felled off his face from the force. Now, he knew he was surrounded by these bullies and he could only see blurs. The terror overcome his senses as Rei scrambled around in search of a way out.

“This isn’t funny, I can’t see!”

“You don’t need your glasses in the pool!”

“In you go!”

“Hold your breath!”

The laugher was the last thing he heard before he found there was no more ground under his feet. Rei screamed as he felt his body hit the water. There was the fear, the panic as Rei struggled to swim back up to the air. He couldn’t hear anything but the silence of water around him. He was going to die; he was going to drown as he couldn’t swim. He tried to scream for help, but his mouth, his lungs filled up with water.

He was sinking to the bottom of the pool, going to die and the only thought that came clear in Rei’s mind through the dozen other ones of formulas, solutions was, ‘This isn’t beautiful.’

Suddenly someone grabbed him and pulled him up. When his head was free of the water, Rei started to cough up the water, to breath. The fresh air burned against his lungs, but it was air. He felt other arms dragged him out of the pool, and the rest continue to blur around. There were shouts, a towel put over his head, people running around and asking if he was ok. Rei could only nod his head as he cough and continue to breathe in the wonderful air.

“Here, I think these are yours.”

Something was shoved into his hands and Rei knew they were his glasses. Once in hand, he put them back on. The blurs turned into solid forms and the first one was this red head boy with a large grin on his face.

“T-Thanks,” coughed Rei.

“Welcome,” said the redhead with that grin still in place, “Glad to see you are going to be ok, though those jerks can’t say the same.”

The redhead pointed over ways and Rei looked over his shoulder. He was pleased to see Shinobu and his friends were being told off by a few of the teachers. The anger on the adults’ faces and the pure fear and shame on those bullies, made Rei happy. To see those guys finally be punish for something, even if he almost died from it, it was good news.

“You’re going to be ok?”

Rei nodded his head, curled up into the towel one of the teachers gave him, he wasn’t sure when but it was warm and nice, “Yes, thank you.”

“Never seen someone sink like that before, you should had swam-“

Rei felt shame as he merely curled up a bit tighter. It wasn’t as if he could care to admit that he didn’t know how to swim, didn’t care to learn how to swim even. It was a tad embarrassing as everyone else seem to know how. Even the jerk Shinobu knew how to swim. Well, if they wanted to splash around like animals, let them. He didn’t care.

“Hey…you ok?”

“I don’t know how to swim,” mumbled Rei.

“What? Don’t know how swim?” gasped the redhead in surprise, “That is kind of stupid.”

“I just don’t see the appeal ok!” shouted Rei. Emotion surge up from inside as he stood up, the towel draped around his shoulders as he glared up at the boy, “Why should I learn? There is nothing nice about splashing around like some kind of fish? I don’t want to look foolish doing something pointless! We can out of the water, why should we be so obsess with going back into!”

It was so strange to say it out loud, Rei panted as the last bit of his energy drained from his body. He wanted to go home, to bed and forget this all even happen. The redhead didn’t say anything. The grin transformed into a frown as he appeared to be thinking of something now. Oh, Rei knew that the other boy would only tease him, insult or merely just walked off. That is what everyone had done in the past and he was use to it.

But no, the redhead merely shrugged and the frown changed back into a grin, “Well, I am sure you never saw swimming like I do, like how the big sports stars do in the Olympics. You should watch me and see what you think of it.”

That was different. Rei was a tad shock by the other boy’s comment as he started to walk off back towards the pool. What difference is it between swimming like their classmates to some kind of sport done at the Olympics? It wouldn’t make any sort of a difference to him, Rei knew that. But still, he watched the redhead walk to where they had swimming lanes set up for those that wanted to use them. He hadn’t seen anyone use them as they were all happy to play in the pool with each other.

The redhead put on this swimming cap and a pair of goggles with a snap of the band. Rei continued to watch as he stood up on the block on the edge of the pool and took position. 

When the redhead jumped off and dived into the water, despites the distance, the noise and the many, many other people around, Rei saw it. He stared a bit in shock as he watch as the boy hit the water with the littlest of splash and started to swim across the pool with his arms. He never had seen anyone swim like the redhead before. His head popped up and he used both arms to push himself forward. It was so neat, and really…it was beautiful.

That moment, Rei wanted to swim like that, wanted to look as beautiful as the other boy.

Maybe he could show him how if Rei said sorry.

~*~

It seems he wouldn’t have any trouble with getting on the swimming team. Rin was a tad surprise that Mikoshiba Seijuurou happily took him on when he asked to join. He had thought that he would have tried out or does something to prove his ability to join a famous swimming team like Samezuka. Though, he already knew he was good, but just formality of it all.

“I know you can swim, it was big news when you transfer here from Australia. Wanted to talk to you about joining anyway right away but I figure you were setting in still,” Seijuurou said with a laugh.

Rin merely frown and shrug. The guy seemed ok enough, but he hoped he was going to be all chummy. He only joined so that he would swim against Haruka. Once he official beat him, than he could move on. Nothing else matter but winning. Now if only the idiot would get back into shape so that he could be something of a challenge and worth his time.

“Matsuoka-senpai!”

There on the edge of the pool was his roommate Aiichiro Nitori. They hadn’t really talked to each other much, not from Nitori’s lack of trying. He always tried to start some kind of conversation, but Rin never gave him much attention. But it seems he would have to if he was on the swim team as well. Though, he could just continue to walk and pretend he didn’t hear anything at all.

“Oh, look likes Aiichiro-kun wants to say hello.”

Forgot about Mikoshiba.

The captain happily leaded him over as Rin unwilling followed over to join the younger boy. He had his swim suit on, damp but wore the black, white and red jacket with the teeth design going along the arm. In one hand were a stop watch and the other…a pair of glasses? Rin was quite sure that Nitori didn’t wear glasses.

“You met Aiichiro-kun already,” said Seijuurou.

“We’re roommates,” said Rin with a shrug. Nothing big about it.

“Yeah,” said Nitori, a large smile on his face, “You finally joined the swim team? That is cool! I can’t wait to see you swim. Bet you are great!”

“Shees…” scoffed Rin as he rubbed the back of his head. Way to put pressure on him already before he done anything, “Anyway, what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be in the pool?”

Nitori gave a nervous chuckle as he held up a stop watch out into the lane as if it had all the answers, “I’m doing ok, not like you. I am just timing Rei-san.”

He turned his head to the lane to see who was in the lane and watch the head bob up and down in the water. His eyes opened a bit more as he saw it was another butterfly swimmer. With the difficulty of the stroke, there wasn’t many of them and did require more training to prefect it. As well, it was his stroke so Rin of course was a tad interested in someone that thought they could do the butterfly (And the fact this was another guy with a girly name, though he wouldn’t say that out loud under torture). This Rei was…

Pretty damn good, though Rin wouldn’t say that out loud. The form was prefect, text book prefect. To anyone else, they could see nothing wrong with it at all. But Rin knew the stroke and there was something missing.

His thoughts stopped with the slap of the water as the swimmer finished the lap and Rin stared down as he removed his head cap and goggles to expose the mop of blue hair.

“Aiichiro-san, how was that?” he panted, took to pulling himself up.

God, was he wearing rainbow legkskins?

“Best one today, you shave off a bit of time since yesterday,” said Nitori, handed over the glasses before the watch.

With the red frame glasses on and the serious face, Rin couldn’t help but think he knew the kid from somewhere, but couldn’t pick it up. Maybe some swimmer from the club a few years ago or some competitions, who knows? But he should have remember someone that took his sport seriously if that expression he wore as he looked at the stopwatch was anything was to go by.

“Still could be better.”

“Rei-kun, I want you meet a new team mate,” said Mikoshiba, “This is Matsuoka Rin and-“

That gotten his attention as Rei looked up from the stopwatch and over to him and the captain with a look of recognition and shock, “Matsuoka-senpai? He is going to join the team? Really?”

Rin merely scoffed, “Nitori has been talking huh?”

“No!” said Nitori, “I mean…maybe I mention you a bit. But not a lot.”

“Whatever,” he said with a roll of his eyes before he glance over Rei. The boy’s face went through a lot, shock, and surprise before it drifted back to a serious, business only look. What was with this guy?

“If that is everything, I still need to get a few more laps in,” he said, “If you excuse me, Mikoshiba-buchou…Nice to meet you, Matsuoka-senpai.”

The three of them stood there and watch as the megane in the rainbow legskin walked off before Rin spoke, “He seems nice,” he snorted.

“Rei-kun is strange, but he a hard worker,” said Seijuuro, “Has some good times in the butterfly, but I bet you can teach him a thing or two.”

The question would be if he wanted too. Rin had his own ideas and plans and didn’t really see the point to help some other swimmer that he even doubts would want it. Still, there was this small part of his mind that said he knew the kid from somewhere.

~*~

Back into his dorm, Rei was glad that his roommate was out. He didn’t want anyone around right now. He needed the quiet, the time by himself and his thoughts. They were all jumbled up into his mind, words and numbers for him to try and make sense, not to mention his own body was reacting. His hear hadn’t stopped its quick beating since practice.

To see Matsuko-senpai, after all these years, his own eyes couldn’t believe it.

Rei lean against the door, slide down to get a grip. He had to control himself; he wasn’t some child or one of those characters in Senpai/Kohai BL comic. They were like…like Nitori! He wasn’t anything like his shorter teammate, who liked talking about Matsuko-senpai a lot. He like to flaunt the fact that he was his roommate and got to see him more than Rei ever did.

He could feel his face heat up as his thoughts grew.

“Not beautiful,” he said, covering his face in shame. How could he bare to see his idol if he acted like some girl with a crush? All Rin did was inspire him to swim beautifully. They might never have talked again since that day in the pool, but Rei found out who he was from other swimmers and he remembered.

Now Matsuko-senpai was back and Rei felt his heart beat non-stop.

How can someone have such feelings towards another when you hadn’t properly met?


End file.
